Flying apparatus.



E. CAPPS.

FLYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 291911.

Patented Sept. 18, 1917."

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR Ellis flap as,

WITNESSES E. CAPPS. FLYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION man mm. 24.1911.

WITNESSES 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

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ATTORNEY E. CAPPS.

FLYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. m1.

E. CAPPS.

FLYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 1911.

1,240,669. Patented Sept. 18,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4-.

iNVENTOR ATTORNEY ELLIS CAPPS, OFFCRREST CITY, ARKANSAS.

FLYING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Sept. 18, 1917.

Application filed March 24, 1917. Serial No. 157,165. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLIS OAPPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Forrest City, in the county of St. Francis and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flying i pparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flying apparatus, the broad objectof the invention being to provide apparatus of the character referred to embodying means whereby it is adapted to be mounted upon and worn by the aviator, the apparatus embodying in combination with a garment or jacket partly inclos- .ing the body of the aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces, directional controlling sur faces, manually operable means for varying the angles of said directional controlling surfaces, and propelling means,'the jacket or garment constituting a common support for the remainder of the elements of the flying apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character referred to, the construction of which enables the garment or acket to be readily applied to and removed from the aviator, also enabling the supporting or gliding surfaces to be readily attached to and detached from said garment or jacket.

Another object in view is to provide supporting surfaces of novel construction and arrangement relatively to each. other and the supporting jacket, whereby the supporting surfaces may be collapsed or folded for transportation and storage purposes.

'With the above and other objects in view,-

the invention consists in the novel construc-.

tion, combination and arrangement of parts, herein described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view partly broken away, of the flying apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same indicating by dotted lines the relation of the flying apparatus to the aviator.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

v Fig. 4; is a fragmentary plan view partly in i n, -.sh0Wi. g the means for detacha y connecting the supporting surfaces to the jacket and also means for detachably connecting'the sections of the jacket.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation on an enlarged scale, showing the jacket and centrally arranged garment or jacket 3 of any suitable material such. as aluminum.

The wings or planes forming the upper and lower supporting surfaces ,1 and 2 are arranged at an angle to each other. The wings or side portions of the upper surfaces 1 having an upwardly inclimng dihedral angle relatively to each other, and the wings or side portions of the lower supportingsurfaces 2 having a downwardly sloping or reverse dihedral angle relatively to each other. In other words the inner ends of the side portions ofthe upper and lower supporting surfaces are arranged closer together than the outer extremities thereof, said arrangement of the supporting surfaces acting to impart greatly increased lateral stability to the supporting surfaces.

The inner extremities of the supporting surfaces 1 and 2 are formed with knuckles 4 which receive pivot pins 5 connecting said supporting surfaces to arms 6 extending. from the front and rear sections 7 and 8, respectively of the jacket 3 as best illustrated in Fig. 4. The jacket sections 7 and 8' are formed with eyes or knuckles 9 adjacent to the top and bottom thereof through which are inserted detachable fasteners 10 shown in the form of pins, by the removal of which, the front and rear sections 7 and 8 of the jacket may be disconnected, thereby enabling the jacket to be readily tical alinement with the hinge and the sections are pivotally connected together by knuckles 12 through which hinge pins are inserted. Struts 13 and 14 connect the top and bottom surfaces land 2, the struts 13 being located substantially in verpins for the joints 11, and the struts 14 being arranged adjacent to the end portions of said supporting surfaces. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, each of said struts is capable of being folded by reason of the fact that it is composed of upper and lower sections hinged together by a knuckle joint 15. As shown in F ig. 3, the abutting shoulders adjacent to the joint 15 enables said joint to be broken rearwardly but prevent the breaking or collapsing of the strut in a forward direction. The pivot pin connecting the sections of each strut is located forward of the longitudinal axis of the strut so that there is no tendency of the strut to collapse when the upper and lower sections thereof are in alinement with each other as shown in Fig. 3.

Truss wires or rods 16 are connected at their inner extremities to eyes 17 on the jacket and are connected at their outer extremities to eyes 18 on the planes or supporting surfaces land 2. The said truss wires 16 cross each other as shown in Fig. 2 and are provided with turn-buckles 19 for straining the truss wires and also to enable said truss wire sections to be disconnected when the planes or supporting surfaces are to-be collapsed and folded. Other truss wires 20, crossing each other, are interposed between the upper and lower planes orsupporting surfaces, reaching from the jacket to points adjacent to the outer extremities of the inner sections of the side portions or wings of the planes or supporting surfaces.

Bottom stays 21 extend from the jacket 3 adjacent to the bottom edge thereof to the outer portions of the lower supporting planes or surfaces 2 to which they are attached adjacently to the bottoms of the struts 14.

Extending rearwardly from the jacket 3 is. a combined tail support and manifold fairleader 22 of tubular formation the rear end of which carries the empennage or tail structure, the same comprising vertical fins or surfaces 23 and horizontal fins or surfaces 24 braced in fixed relation to each other by stays 25. The tail structure including the fins 23 and 27 is connected by a ball-joint 26 to the rear end of the tail supporting member 22, thereby enabling the tail structure to be rocked to any angle.

Control cables 27 for the vertical fins or rudder and other control cables 28 for the horizontal fins or rudder extend from the respective fins in a. forward direction through thef m'anifol'd fairleader' 22, and

then through directional branches 29 thereof to winding drums or pulleys 30 and 31 provided with operating arms or handles 32 and 33 by the turning of which the cables 27 and 28 may be tightened and slackened for the purpose of operating the horizontal and vertical fins or rudders, the obvious purposes being to steer the apparatus either in an upward or downward direction or to one side or the other. The drums 30 and 31 are mounted on the front of the jacket and the handles 32 and 33 are arranged conveniently for the hands of the aviator.

34 designates a body supporting sling or saddle strap which is secured to the bottom of the jacket 3 and which the aviator straddles. 35 designates the motor or engine which is supported directly upon the jacket 3 at the front thereof and 36 is a fuel reservoir from which a feed pipe 37 extends to the carbureter 38 of the engine. 39 desigtractor propeller arranged in front of the jacket 3 and having its shaft extending through a housing 41 the rear end of which is supported by the engine frame and the forward portion of which is supported by a spider 42 secured in fixed relation to the jacket 3. Arms of the spider 42 extend above the propeller shaft housing 41 and support a windshield 43, which has its rear end attached to the jacket 3, the wind-shield inclining upwardly and forwardly therefrom overthe propeller 40 and carrying a search-light 44 and a compass 45, the last two devices being supported by the windshield frame as shown. that the jacket 3 mayalso be utilized as a support for other accessories such as a battery, a lubricating reservoir for the engine, spark and throttle levers, and'the like.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will now be understood that the flying apparatus embodies a jacket or garment capable of being readily applied to and re moved from the body of the aviator. Said garment or jacket forms a common support for the remainder of the apparatus, including the supporting surfaces, the tail structure, the controlling apparatus, the propelling apparatus, and all of the other parts hereinabove enumerated. The jacket, being of sectional construction, may be readily applied and removed, and the wings or supporting surfaces may be easily connected to and disconnected from the garment or the jacket. Whenever desired, the side ortions or wings of the supporting sur aces may be collapsed or folded by breaking the joints of the struts 13and 14 and temporarily disconnecting the sections of the truss wires 16 by means of the turn-buckles or strainers Th a ea of the supporting faces connected thereto andextending there-. from, directional surfaces in .rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means," means for controlling said direc-- -tional surfaces, said supporting surfaces emsurfaces will of course vary in accordance with the weight of the aviator, the engine, and the load to be carried thereby.

I claim 1. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body' of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, and means for controlling said directional surfaces 2. 'In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, and means for controlling said directional surfaces, said jacket embodying separably connected sections.

3. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, and means for controlling said directional surfaces, said supporting surfaces having a detachable connection with said jacket.

4:. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means,

and means for controlling said directional surfaces, said supporting surfaces embodying wings having a jointed and pivotalconnection with said jacket.

5. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, means for controlling said directional surfaces, said supporting surfaces em bodying oppositely extending wings having apivotal connection with said jacket, and jointed and folding struts connecting the upper and lowersections of said wings.

'6; In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted --to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding'surbodying oppositely extending upper and lower wings, each wing being transversely divided into sections hingedly connected an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces and'connected therewith, propelling means,-

Of'said motor, a motor shaft on which said I ing means for the forward end portion of together attheir meeting edges,l and jointed and folding struts connecting the sections of said wings.

7. In flying apparatus, the combination of -a jacket adapted to fit around the body of connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, and means for controlling said directional surfaces, said supporting surfaces embodying upper and lower wings extending in opposite directions, the upper and lower directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, means for controlling said directional surfaces, said propelling means including a tractor propeller, and a windshield extending forwardly from said'jacket over said propeller. i

10. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket means for controlling said directional surfaces, and bottom stays connecting the outer portions of the supporting surfaces with said jacket.

. .11. In flying apparatus, the combination of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding sunfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear of said jacket and connected therewith, propelling means, means for controlling said directional surfaces, said propelling means embodying a motor supported directly by said jacket, a tractor propeller located in advance propeller is mounted, a propeller shaft housing of tubular formation supported at its rear end by the engine frame, and supportsaid-housing having a fixed relation to said jacket.

12. Inflying apparatus, the combination 7 of a jacket adapted to fit around the body of an aviator, supporting and gliding surfaces connected thereto and extending therefrom, directional surfaces in rear ofsaid jacket and connected therewith, propelling 5 means, means for controlling said directional surfaces, a mum tail support extending rearwardly from said jacket and having said directional surfaces connected to and supported thereby, control cables extending from 'said directional surfaces 10 through said tubular tail support, and cable controlling members supported by said jacket.

' In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ELLIS CAPPS- 

